Who’s Eligible To Get The COVID-19 Vaccine In Utah?

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – As more vaccines become available, more Utahns are becoming eligible to receive them.

As of Feb. 25, residents who meet certain criteria can get the COVID-19 vaccine, and the Utah Department of Health is expecting more people will be eligible beginning in April.

Health officials expect vaccines should be available for everyone beginning in late spring or early summer.

Here’s who’s currently eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine

• Healthcare workers who have contact with patients (like dentists, physical or occupational therapists, front office staff in a clinic, medical aesthetics, home healthcare workers, etc.)
• Long-term care facility staff and residents
• First responders like EMS personnel, law enforcement officers, dispatchers, and corrections officers
• K-12 school teacher or staff
• Utahns 50 years and older
• Utahns 16 years or older with the following medical conditions:
  • Asplenia including splenectomy or a spleen dysfunction
  • Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or higher
  • Chronic heart disease (not hypertension) including chronic heart failure, ischaemic heart disease, and severe valve or congenital heart disease
  • Chronic kidney disease
  • Chronic liver disease including chronic hepatitis B or C, alcohol-related liver disease, primary biliary cirrhosis, or primary sclerosing cholangitis or hemochromatosis
  • Cancer diagnosed within the last 5 years that began in the blood, bone marrow, or cells in the immune system. This type of cancer is called hematologic cancer (such as leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma).
  • Cancer diagnosed within the last 1 year that didn’t begin in the blood or bone marrow. This type of cancer is called non-hematologic cancer (excluding basal and squamous cell cancer diagnoses).
  • Diabetes (Type I and Type II)
  • Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from blood, bone marrow, or organ transplant; HIV; long-term use of corticosteroids; or other medicines that weaken the immune system
  • Neurologic conditions that impair respiratory function, including cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, epilepsy, motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, Parkinson’s disease, progressive cerebellar disease, and quadriplegia or hemiplegia
  • Receiving dialysis for severe kidney disease
  • Receiving immunosuppression therapy
  • Sickle cell disease
  • Severe chronic respiratory disease (other than asthma) including severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, fibrosing lung disease, bronchiectasis, or cystic fibrosis
  • Solid organ transplant recipient
  • Stage 4 or stage 5 chronic kidney disease
  • Stroke and dementia (Alzheimer’s, vascular, or frontotemporal)
  • Uncontrolled diabetes with an A1c of 9% or higher

“We expect COVID-19 vaccines will be available starting in April for other age groups, people with underlying medical conditions not listed above, and those who live in congregate settings and are at higher risk for the virus that causes COVID-19,” according to UDOH.

Click here to schedule an appointment with your local health department.

Click here to schedule an appointment at a retail pharmacy.

For more information, visit coronavirus.utah.gov.